OPINION
West Ham’s afternoon at Turf Moor on Saturday couldn’t have gone much worse.
Losing 3-0, partially thanks to some disastrous goalkeeping from Roberto, the Hammers were dire from start to finish, and were probably lucky not to get beaten by more, truth be told.
And their miserable outing was compounded when Manuel Lanzini was stretchered off with a shoulder injury late on.
As per the club’s official Twitter account, the Argentine had to be given oxygen to deal with the pain, and all the signs point to a relatively serious complaint.
And while the £70,000-a-week ace’s injury [Spotrac] is an obvious blow for the Irons, it could prove to be an opportunity for one struggling teammate.
Pablo Fornals hasn’t exactly hit the ground running in England, and his average Whoscored rating of 6.21 illustrates a player who is well off his form.
Now, however, with Lanzini facing a possible spell on the sidelines, the young Spaniard faces a sink or swim situation.
You would expect him to be given more game time during his colleague’s absence, and if that is the case then he will need to step up to the plate, especially with his side now winless in six.
It’s far from an ideal situation, and obviously nobody wishes injury on their teammates, but getting thrown in at the deep end could be the jolt Fornals needs to finally find his form in east London.
If he doesn’t, then these testing times could get a whole lot more difficult for the Irons.
